India’s Great Masters by Raghu Rai and Ashok Vajpeyi ; Published by Harper Collins; Pages 167 ; Price Rs. 3500/- ********************** Raghu Rai is acknowledged to be one of the best photographers in the world. In this book he portrays thirteen masters and they are Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, M.S.Subbulakshmi, Mallikarjun Mansur, Kumar Gandharva, S Balchander, Alla Rakha , Zakir Hussain, Vilayat Khan, Bismillah Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Bhimsen Joshi. Portraits of these masters given in this book form an invaluable record of Indian musical heritage. Rai’s photo essays have appeared in Time, Life, National Geographic and the New York Times. He has also to his credit a number of books, including The Sikhs, Taj Mahal, India and Mother Teresa. A vital part of this book is the illuminating text written by Ashok Vajpeyi, Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi. His profiles of these musicians reveal highlights of their life and provide us remarkable snapshots of their lives, couched in lyrical language. We have chosen only two of the thirteen musicians covered in this book. image.png Ravi Shankar remains a legend of our times, combining in his person and his music the deeply classical and the firmly modern. A world-renowned Sitar player, Ravi Shankar introduced the world to the riches of Indian classical music. Ustad Allauddin Khan taught various instruments, including the Sitar, the Violin, the Flute and his disciples Ravi Shankar, Pannalal Ghosh,Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Nikhil Banerjee grew into major musicians. Yehudi Menuhin termed Ravi Shankar “without doubt one of the greatest musicians today. He has not only brought Indian classical music to the West but he has also, in no small degree, influenced western music…His genius and humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart’s”. Rich tribute from a great violinist but highly deserved. image.png Coming to India’s Queen of music, M.S.Subbulakshmi, it is written that the gold of her voice glittered more than the jewels she had around her neck and on her fingers. A sense of magic pervaded her-- magic created by her voice with such simplicity and humility. Her music was utterly pure and it purified the listeners as well. Words acquire a depth of meaning, a glow of relevance when they are used to describe the music of M S. Grace, transparency, purity by any standards, whether of skill or vision, of craft or economy, this was high music, lofty, noble, pure, well—structured, glowing inwardly and outwardly. Mahatma Gandhi , impressed both by the music and the bhakti of M.S. said, “She loses herself in bhajans. To sing bhajans is one thing, to sing it by losing oneself in God is quite different”. M.S sang bhajans of Meera,Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir and Nanak. She was distinguished by the quality of her voice, spiritual fervour and high creativity of interpretation. For M.S-- life was her music and music was her life. The book under review is a photographic journey into the heart of classical music and one great photographer’s tribute to the great exponents of Indian classical music. One cannot conceive of a better way of paying tribute to these great Indian classical masters. This volume is a collector's dream fulfilled. P.P.Ramachandran 27/9/2020.